After the Quake by Murakami - April BOTM

[Diane]

Review thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Diane]

1. How does Murakami use the backdrop of the 1995 Kobe earthquake to explore themes of loss, displacement, and resilience in "After the Quake"?

2. Analyze the significance of the story "UFO in Kushiro" in terms of its portrayal of isolation and the search for connection amidst the aftermath of the earthquake.

3. In "Landscape with Flatiron," what does the relationship between the protagonist and his estranged wife reveal about the complexities of human emotions and the need for closure?

4. Discuss the role of surrealism and magical realism in Murakami's narrative style, using examples from "After the Quake" to illustrate how these elements contribute to the storytelling.

5. Explore the symbolism of the frog in "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" and its metaphorical implications for overcoming personal and societal challenges.

6. How does Murakami depict the intersection of dreams and reality in "Thailand," and what commentary does this offer on the nature of memory and trauma?

7. Compare and contrast the characters of Junpei and Sayoko in "Honey Pie," examining their respective approaches to coping with loss and finding solace in each other.

8. Analyze the motif of storytelling within "After the Quake," focusing on how characters use narratives to make sense of their experiences and navigate the uncertainties of life.

9. Discuss the role of coincidence and fate in the lives of Murakami's characters, drawing examples from the interconnectedness of their stories in the collection.

10. How does Murakami challenge conventional notions of reality and time in "After the Quake," and what broader philosophical questions does this raise about the human condition?

[Jane]

1. How does Murakami use the backdrop of the 1995 Kobe earthquake to explore themes of loss, displacement, and resilience in After the Quake?
I’ve been thinking a lot about this because the quake is only briefly referred to in some stories. As mentioned below (question #8), the quake is a reminder that life is short, so it should be enjoyed. In many cases, it brings to light the need for change in a character’s life, whether that is the need to grab onto what truly matters (e.g. “Honey Pie”) or to get rid of something poisonous/harmful (e.g. “Thailand”).

2. Analyze the significance of the story “UFO in Kushiro” in terms of its portrayal of isolation and the search for connection amidst the aftermath of the earthquake.
The earthquake is the catalyst for Komura’s wife to leave him. It seems to have made her aware of his superficiality. Even Shimao, who he has known for a few hours, seems to recognize this in him when she jokes that the mysterious box contains “the something” inside of him. Perhaps he will start to recognize this lack in himself and try to make his life more meaningful.

3. In “Landscape with Flatiron,” what does the relationship between the protagonist and his estranged wife reveal about the complexities of human emotions and the need for closure?
This was my least favorite story in the collection. I assume this question refers to Miyake, who I wouldn’t consider the protagonist, as the story is told from Junko’s perspective. His wife and children are only briefly mentioned, and I didn’t get a sense of their relationship, breakup, or closure. Miyake seemed to me a person so afraid of death that he let it control his life. The refrigerator is just a symbol for the grave, after all (just like the iron is a symbol for something else in his painting).

4. Discuss the role of surrealism and magical realism in Murakami’s narrative style, using examples from After the Quake to illustrate how these elements contribute to the storytelling.
I don’t want to be a contrarian, but I don’t think the stories are examples of magical realism because nothing supernatural occurs. Perhaps I am forgetting something, but even Frog can be explained as a hallucination or dream. Arguably the one supernatural element is the fortune teller’s ability to read Satsuki’s mind and assure her that “he” was not killed in the earthquake.

5. Explore the symbolism of the frog in “Super-Frog Saves Tokyo” and its metaphorical implications for overcoming personal and societal challenges.
The frog seems to be symbolic of Katagiri’s desire to be more than he is: more powerful, more intelligent, more significant, and more heroic. He is described as having weathered “sixteen years of daily combat” as a collection officer. This suggests to me that he thinks of his daily life as a battle/war, but arguably it is a meaningless one. Joining Frog in his battle against worm would be significant, lives would be saved, not just money collected from crooked businessmen.

6. How does Murakami depict the intersection of dreams and reality in “Thailand,” and what commentary does this offer on the nature of memory and trauma?
Satsuki’s dream is about a rabbit in a cage, trembling in fear of something about to arrive. At first, she is observing the rabbit, then she becomes the rabbit. The dream the fortune teller predicts is about a snake that will swallow the stone inside of her. The stone is related to trauma that happened 30 years before, which seems to have made her unable to have children (perhaps an abortion gone wrong, perhaps a miscarriage). She needs to let go of this trauma (and hate for the mysterious “he” in Kobe) so that it does not consume what is left of her life. In classic dream fashion, things are reversed: hold on to the snake = let go of the trauma; the snake will eat the stone = she will not be eaten by her hatred.

7. Compare and contrast the characters of Junpei and Sayoko in “Honey Pie,” examining their respective approaches to coping with loss and finding solace in each other.
Junpei has been alienated from his family for decades, and he has no idea whether they survived the earthquake. He seems to assume they are dead, and he is described as having a new sense of isolation: “I have no roots… I’m not connected to anything.” The other “loss” he is coping with is his love for Sayoka; his stories all deal with unrequited love and are dark and sentimental. I guess Sayoka is coping with the divorce as a loss, but she doesn’t seem to have been affected by it too much. Perhaps her real “loss” is the same as Junpei’s – she has always truly loved him, but he has never recognized it or been able to act upon it at the right time. He waits until after she is in a relationship with Takatsuki before trying to kiss her – too late. And when the time is right to declare his feelings, he doesn’t do anything. The earthquake and his sense of “rootlessness” seem part of what inspires him to finally declare himself to Sayoko.

8. Analyze the motif of storytelling within After the Quake, focusing on how characters use narratives to make sense of their experiences and navigate the uncertainties of life.
In “UFO,” Shimao tells the story of the bear and the bell, which makes Komura laugh for the first time in months. The story also illustrates the need for enjoying life amid constant threats. As Shimao says “tomorrow there could be an earthquake; you could be kidnapped by aliens; you could be eaten by a bear. Nobody knows what’s going to happen.” In “Honey Pie,” Junpei’s story about the bears seems symbolic of his relationship with Sayoka “it’s not right for one friend to do all the giving and the other to do all the taking.” Junpei has to come up with a good solution so that the story is not so dark and sad (like his other stories). Both friends have to give something to make the relationship work – one bear finds honey, the other uses it to make pies.

9. Discuss the role of coincidence and fate in the lives of Murakami’s characters, drawing examples from the interconnectedness of their stories in the collection.
In one way or other, the characters have all seemed to accept some condition of their life as a given (as fate, perhaps), and the quake wakes them up to the need to change – to commit to someone, to enjoy life more, to relinquish old feelings that are holding one back.

[Pamela]

1. How does Murakami use the backdrop of the 1995 Kobe earthquake to explore themes of loss, displacement, and resilience in "After the Quake"?
Murakami looks at the earthquake from a variety of angles from the obsessive news watching in UFO in Kushiro to the feelings of characters who have left people behind in Kobe. It is often a catalyst for change. Characters find other activities such as building fires to cope. Young Sala has a character called the Earthquake Man to put her fears on, similar to the Frog of Katagiri - these characters have recognised the fragility of life.

2. Analyze the significance of the story "UFO in Kushiro" in terms of its portrayal of isolation and the search for connection amidst the aftermath of the earthquake.
Komura’s wife is lonely in Tokyo and misses her family. Watching the news of the earthquake has occupied her completely and triggers her to decide that she needs to be with them rather than Komura. She has been the anchor for Komura that makes him feel safe and secure so without her he is at a loss. His encounter with Shimao is unsuccessful sexually as he is thinking about the earthquake but her teasing forces him to confront his loss and his emotions surface, and afterwards he feels it has helped him.

3. In "Landscape with Flatiron," what does the relationship between the protagonist and his estranged wife reveal about the complexities of human emotions and the need for closure?
This is an intriguing question as we know very little about this relationship, except that the wife lived in Kobe and that apparently they are no longer in contact. Yet we believe this is at the heart of his displacement. Miyake is feeling a sense of hopelessness and anxiety and only building the fire brings comfort, while the dream he reveals shows trauma and despair about life and fear of death.

6. How does Murakami depict the intersection of dreams and reality in "Thailand," and what commentary does this offer on the nature of memory and trauma?
The Dream about the snake introduces the stone. Satsuki is carrying her anger and trauma with her like a stone, the dream will change her attitude towards it and allow her to move forward. She believes the old woman because of her trust in Nimit, and she recognises her personal connection to the earthquake, that she feels she caused it because of her hatred of “he” for whatever he’d done years before.

7. Compare and contrast the characters of Junpei and Sayoko in "Honey Pie," examining their respective approaches to coping with loss and finding solace in each other.
Junpei is more cautious and initially avoids Sayoko because he is afraid of losing the friendship. He is a passive character - “The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to him that his relationship with Sayoko had been consistently directed by others”. Sayoko is more actively waiting for Junpei to take control, but she has Sala to protect so needs to feel that Junpei is committed to her.

8. Analyze the motif of storytelling within "After the Quake," focusing on how characters use narratives to make sense of their experiences and navigate the uncertainties of life.
Shimao’s story about the bear breaks Komura’s silence and he laughs and this is the first thawing since his wife left. Jack London’s story of the fire is received differently by the characters as it reflects their own hopelessness. Junpei has to change the story of the bears once he has recognised his responsibilities towards Sala and has finally decided to commit to Sayoko.

I am still pondering the importance of fate and reality - these themes recur but it isn’t always clear what Murakami is saying, in fact the ambiguity and open ended style is part of his appeal for me.

[Pip]

1. Each of the stories is about people who, although not directly involved, are affected by the Kobe earthquake in different ways. The earthquake may not have affected them physically, but each story has protagonists who are affected emotionally. It either causes them to contemplate loss, to change the way they are living or to come to terms with a life with which they are disatisfied.
2. The story UFO in Kushiro is about a man whose wife returns to her parents after the earthquake, because, she tells him in a note, he is empty inside, all he has is a chunk of air. He goes on a mysterious errand for a work colleague and meets an enigmatic woman who tells him the package he had couriered had his empty soul inside. The story is vintage Murikami in that he keeps the reader off kilter, while contemplating the need for connection with other people.
3. This is the bleakest of the stories. The protagonist, presumably is Miyake, who is estranged from his family, who live near Kobe, but he doesnt try to contact them after the earthquake. He builds bonfires on the beach as solace, which draws a young woman Junko, into his orbit. She is also someone who has run away from a life she didn't like. They are both familiar with Jack London's story of a man dying in the Alaskan cold because he is unable to light a fire. Junko disagreed with her schoolteacher, who thought it was obvious that the man wanted to live. Junko felt that he wanted to die. Miyake had a fear of refrigerators, dreaming of suffocating inside one. Despite this fear the pair decide to commit suicide when the fire dies down. A need for closure?
4. Murikami describes a hyperrealistic world which is utterly believable except for one fantastical element, in Super-frog Saves Tokyo, for example. This could be defined as magic realism. In other stories he weaves dreams into the story, such as Miyake's dreams about being locked in a frig; Sala's nightmares about the Earthquake Man or the dream Satsuki needs to have about the snake to expel the white stone inside her. Dreams have a profound effect on the protagonist when they are awake.
5. The huge frog may be a figment of Katagiri's imagination. He is a fantastical creature, who shows Katagiri that his life of discipline and quiet success is heroic, despite his lack of recognition. In fighting the Worm they may be killed and no one would know and yet the fight is necessary, Frog persuades Katagiri. The threat to Tokyo was not an earthquake but a terrorist attack on the underground, but it is the uncertainty and terror that can occur in everyday life which Murakami is emphasising.

[Pip]

6. In Thailand, the protagonist is a doctor, Satsuki, whose empathy with her driver on a hoiday in Thailand leads her to an elderly woman who tells Satsuki that she has a white stone inside her, that she will dream of a snake and that snake will swallow her stone. Satsuki is moved to tell the driver what she thinks the white stone represents, but he stops her and says that she has to wait until she has the dream. So in this story a predicted dream will assuage the guilt or anger that Satsuki is holding inside.

[Pip]

7. Junpei is a writer with a vivid imagination. He can settle Sayoko's child, Sala, when she awakes from terrifying nightmares about the Earthquake Man. Sayoko is more practical. She asks Junpei if he couldn't make the story he tells Sala to pacify her have a happy ending. Junpei has always loved Sayoko and she him, but his inability to express his feelings and the complication of the trio being a great group together meant his love was undeclared and it is only after Sayoko's husband, Takatsuki, leaves her, that he can make the decision to ask Sayoko to marry him and he can come up with a happy ending for his story.
8. In each of these stories there is another story, which suggests a universal truth, such as the ringing of the bell to ward of bears, which migh be interpreted as "seize the day" life is unpredictable. People tell stories about their trauma in order to make sense of it, but until they can let it go, it continues to haunt them.